Ted Turner is credited with drawing more attention
to America's Cup competition than any other person
in the long history of the Cup. He had proved himself
in ocean racing, winning most of the world's prestige
races including the Southern Ocean Racing Circuit
twice. In 1974 he was at the helm of the contender
MARINER which was eliminated early in the defender
trials. Many credit the disastrous 1974 MARINER campaign
with sparking Ted Turner's success aboard COURAGEOUS
in 1977. COURAGEOUS dominated the final trials, giving
Ted Turner a personal triumph.

The Cup races were a disappointment, with COURAGEOUS
winning four straight races against AUSTRALIA. After
the start, AUSTRALIA never led at any point in any
of the four races. Ted Turner, the last true amateur
to win the America's Cup, glories in head-to-head
competition. He came back with COURAGEOUS I in 1980,
hoping to make her the first three-time defender.
FREEDOM, the latest creation of Sparkman & Stephens,
sailed by Dennis Conner was too strong an opponent.